The Cranes are Flying

The Cranes Are Flying (Russian: Летят журавли, translit. Letyat zhuravli) is a Soviet film about World War II. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage suffered to the Soviet psyche as a result of World War II (known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War). It was directed at Mosfilm by the Georgian-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov in 1957 and stars Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes ... more

The Cranes Are Flying (Russian: Летят журавли, translit. Letyat zhuravli) is a Soviet film about World War II. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage suffered to the Soviet psyche as a result of World War II (known in the Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War). It was directed at Mosfilm by the Georgian-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov in 1957 and stars Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the second of two Soviet films to win the award. The film depicts a Soviet family of the professional class. The head of the family, Fyodor Ivanovich, is a doctor and lives with his son, Boris, and daughter, Irina. His mother and nephew Mark also live with the family. The film centers on Boris's girlfriend, Veronika, and her experiences in wartime. She is nicknamed "Belka" ("squirrel"). The call to war sounds, and the country responds with great patriotic fervor. Boris volunteers to defend his homeland from the... less